About 100 people joined hands for a moment of silence Thursday in Geneva to acknowledge local victims of child abuse and neglect during CASA Kane County's annual Hands Around the Courthouse and County event.
The nonprofit agency, whose acronym stands for Court-Appointed Special Advocates, trains volunteers who are then appointed by judges to advocate on behalf of children in foster care because of abuse and neglect.
Executive Director Jim Di Ciaula said the organization served 613 children in 2022, an 85% increase over three years ago.
"Each child needs and deserves hope for the future and someone who cares about that," he said during the event at the Kane County Courthouse.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The group said child abuse and neglect has risen at alarming rates since the pandemic. Those rates are five times higher for children in families with low socio-economic status compared with children in families with higher socio-economic status.
Children and youth who have spent time in the child welfare system are more likely to face incarceration, homelessness and unemployment. They are also less likely to graduate high school and more likely to be trafficked.
"This is not only an issue of neglect or abuse or a broken system or overburdened workers, but it's one of kids falling through the cracks," said AnnMarie Fauske, deputy director of CASA Kane County. "This is about ensuring that every child has the right to learn, to grow, to feel safe and to be treated with dignity."
The 16th Judicial District Chief Judge Clint Hull paid a special thanks to the volunteers who serve the kids.
"It's so incredible to know that one person, one CASA, is there to stand up for those kids," Hull said. "It's so, so important for not only them but the whole court system, and we couldn't do it without them."
